Development in talks to delay payment of bank debt to Anglo

The Government is in talks with the European Central Bank over a deal to effectively delay the payment of some 3 billion euros of bank debt to Anglo.

Discussions have been ongoing in recent months to strike a deal with the Troika to restructure or reduce the debt - worth some 31 billion euros.

Bloomberg news says the Governor of the Central Bank Patrick Honohan is to ask the ECB tomorrow for permission to effectively delay a cash payment on the Anglo Irish promissory note due at the end of this month.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan told the Dáil this evening that there had been a development in talks during the day…

"The discussion with the European authorities on the general issue continue. But we are also negotiating with the EU authorities and principally with the ECB on the basis that the 3.0bn cash instalment due from the Minister for finance to the IBRC on the 31st of March 2012, under the terms of the IBRC promissory note, could be settled by the delivery of a long term Irish Government Bond"